Expecting

Having a baby will change your life and newborns are not easy, that's why it is so important to prepare your relationship for baby. This article covers nine things you can do before baby arrives to make sure that you and your husband are ready for the new addition.

Birth is beautiful. You welcome your new baby into the world and into your arms. As they say, “it’s the only blind date where you will always meet the love of your life.” However, birth is known as labor for a reason. It is work. While you can’t guarantee your labor and delivery will happen a certain way, you can give yourself the best odds by preparing. AND most importantly how you prepare for birth can dramatically change how your “4th trimester” will go.

So you’ve gotten your big fat positive, celebrated the big news with your partner, and the reality of pregnancy is just starting to set in. Sound about right?! Welcome to the first trimester of pregnancy, mama! There’s already so much you can do to get this pregnancy started on the right foot. Getting organized and planning for baby’s arrival really does begin now.

Photography surrounding the addition of your newest member of your family might not be your top priority.  However, it needs to be a top priority. Learn from me. You want to prioritize photography because you will want those precious photos and because if you don’t spend time on it, you end up paying a lot to not get what you want. Whether you want maternity, hospital and/or newborn photos, here is everything I learned and wish I did when my first was born and what I am doing the second time around.

In this 40 weeks pregnant update, we have a baby! Here I detail my birth story which included an epidural and a lot less pushing than my first birth!

All pregnant women have one thing in common whether it is their first birth or fifth: some sense of anxiety about labor and delivery. This is because so much of it is unknown. Will childbirth classes help with this? Are birth classes necessary?

I know when I was expecting, I spent a lot of time trying to find my new favorite websites for discounts, deals and great content. Whether you just found out you are pregnant or are delivering soon, these are the best pregnancy websites that you must discover as a first-time (or even second or third time) mom. Here are my favorite sites from the well-known sites to the hidden gems out there that can really help save you money or make that pregnancy and delivery just that much better.

Trying to conceive? This article contains 9 tips to help you get pregnant. This covers commons issues which may cause infertility so that you can get pregnant fast. Specifically, Alli discusses her experience with PCOS and how diet change helped her conceive.

Having a baby in any season presents some awesome benefits but also some challenges. Winter babies are born during the flu season. You also have to be vigilant to keep them warm. On the flip side, summer babies need to stay cool which can sometimes be a challenge on those hot summer days.

As your due date and baby’s birth approach, you are probably starting to think a lot about visitors.  Maybe your well-intentioned family members are already scheduling their trips or asking for alerts.  Perhaps your friends and co-workers are already dropping hints about wanting to meet baby right away. I’m really glad you’re here.  Let’s talk all about how to handle and plan for visitors after your baby’s birth.

How to make the most of your hospital stay after birth. Includes 10 tips you'll want to read before heading to labor and delivery. Includes answers to common questions about how long you stay in the hospital after birth, when can you bring baby home, and how long do you bleed after giving birth.

3rd trimester pregnancy symptoms can be some of the toughest to handle. As your body continues to grow and change things start to get pretty uncomfortable. This post has tips and tricks to help manage 10 of the most common third trimester pregnancy symptoms to help you stay comfortable. Pregnancy insomnia, swollen ankles, fatigue, constipation, braxton hicks contractions, and more!

It should come as no surprise to hear that some things about birth and newborns are going to leave you totally shocked no matter how prepared you are.  I know that I was surprised about certain aspects of my birth, the difficulties of processing it emotionally, and ways we could have prepared our home better.  I have written about these topics, and more in our expecting section, to help you be better prepared. But today, I want to share a different perspective on these life changing events.  I sat down with my husband during our latest date night and had him share some of the most surprising aspects of birth and life with a newborn for him.

Pregnancy is a time of growth and transformation (literally and figuratively). A time for excitement and anticipation. And, if you’re like most mamas, a time for preparation. And that urge to prepare, organize and clean? You’re nesting, mama!

A more recent trend, a babymoon is a play on “honeymoon”. It is a trip you take with your partner before baby arrives. A babymoon can be taken at any point while pregnant, and can come in variety of lengths and destinations.